Japan parliament OKs military access pact with Philippines

MANILA, Philippines  - Japan’s House of Councillors has approved the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between the Philippines and Japan, which completes the deal allowing increased military engagements between the two nations.

Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia-Albano announced yesterday that the move “completes the approval process in the Japanese Diet.”

The Philippine Senate in December 2024 ratified the RAA, which paves the way for the establishment of a legal framework for a more robust overall defense cooperation between the two countries.

Earlier in November, President Marcos approved and signed the deal before submitting the same to the Senate for its concurrence.

Albano welcomed Japan’s counterpart approval of RAA, which she described as “a testament to the trust and enduring friendship between the Philippines and Japan.”

“It will enhance our ability to work closely together in promoting a rules-based order governed by international law,” she added.

“We thank the government and people of Japan for their steadfast support and continued collaboration. We look forward to the full implementation of this agreement and to building an even more resilient and forward-looking partnership in the years ahead,” Albano said.

The Department of National Defense, in a statement after the Senate ratification, said the RAA “will heighten our defense and security cooperation with Japan and enhance the interoperability between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Self-Defense Forces of Japan through the conduct of more in-depth practical cooperative activities/exercises.”

Japan has been having more defense engagements with the Philippines and is among several nations declaring support for the Philippines on the issue of the West Philippine Sea.

The RAA is expected to further boost military cooperation between the two nations that includes learning engagements and combined activities or training on humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, in an earlier statement, also emphasized that the agreement would open more opportunities toward enhancing training opportunities, joint exercises and interoperability.

“In terms of our territorial defense posture, the RAA will bolster our maritime domain awareness capabilities through technology transfers, intelligence sharing and strengthened collaboration with Japan, a country with advanced defense systems,” she said.